Londonderry road race will benefit chef battling cancer

LONDONDERRY — Proceeds from next month’s race around the Londonderry High School track will assist a local chef in his ongoing battle against brain cancer.

Brian Winer, a 2004 graduate of Londonderry High School and executive chef at Crave Brasserie and Wine Bar in Amesbury, Mass., has been battling stage IV metastatic melanoma of the brain and lung since early June 2012.

It’s been an uphill battle for Winer, 26, who is unable to work or drive as he undergoes treatments. To make matters worse, he has no health insurance.

This past February, Winer found himself in the Massachusetts General Hospital Emergency Room after experiencing another setback.

He later learned that a new tumor had formed in his brain and his cancer had also spread into his back, spine and hip.

Winer’s sister, Jessica Leavitt, said her brother is currently being treated with a new course of drugs and while some of his tumors appear to be shrinking, he still has a long road ahead.

The 2nd annual Cook Up A Cure For Brian 5K will take place Saturday, Sept. 28.